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Birmingham boss Gary Rowett hints at which areas he'll be looking to strengthen in the summer

The Blues are set for another year in the Championship after missing out on the play-off places.

Gary Rowett has hinted that Birmingham will be looking to bolster the spine of their squad during the summer months after a promising campaign that saw them sit in play-off contention for much of the season, the Birmingham Mail reports.

The Blues are ninth in the Championship and can no longer make the top six after failing to win any of their last four games. And with their position allowing Rowett to turn his attention to next season, he discussed the areas of the squad that may need improvement during the upcoming transfer window.

"It's good to want to do more with the players and certainly when I sit down again I'll look at what we're short of," he told the Mail.

"We've been short of goals. I still think we've conceded too many for the style of football we play and I still think we have to have a bit more ability in certain areas of the pitch.

"We also need a little bit more control in the middle of the pitch at times."

"We know all the things we want to do. It's just if we can find the extra players and improve the ones we've got to see if we can get there."

With Birmingham boasting one of the smaller squads in the division, Rowett may decide that adding depth will be the key to ensuring that the Blues have enough in the tank to continue their play-off charge right until the end of the campaign in future.

With games coming thick and fast in the Championship, the boss' ability to manage the demands on the squad becomes vital to their chances of success.

And while Rowett has done that extremely well since taking over last season, as soon as injuries have become a factor, the progress that the team has made can be completely undone within the space of a week as the side suffer a couple of poor results and lose ground on the pace-setters in the table.

If Birmingham are able to add that depth - especially around the spine of their side - then they may stand a better chance of coming through the hectic periods of the season in a stronger position than before.